The present invention pertains to a cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) trainer, and more particularly to a new CPR trainer mannequin for use by minor children which effectively assists in practicing the basic aid skills to be learned during basic aid training, but which is made from common household items to make it inexpensive so that each child in a given class has his/her own mannequin.
CPR mannequins have long been provided to individuals participating in basic aid training classes. Mannequins having human features and physical characteristics have been used for teaching respiratory aid techniques, including mouth-to-mouth breathing, choking aid (the Heimlich maneuver) and chest compressions in order to provide a trainee a more realistic feel for performing the techniques on a real human person. In mouth-to-mouth breathing, a humanoid mannequin is provided that allows the trainee to pinch its nostrils and breathe into its mouth, thereby inflating and deflating a lung. In the choking aid technique, a humanoid mannequin is provided that contains an obstruction in the throat of the mannequin that restricts the passage of air from the lung to the mouth and vice versa. By applying a force to the torso of the mannequin, the object is removed and the breathing passageway cleared for normal breathing. For teaching chest compressions, a humanoid mannequin is provided on which the trainee may practice applying intermittent force to the sternum of the mannequin to stimulate the lungs to circulate oxygenated blood flow.
Several types and models of trainer mannequins having human features and physical characteristics are available for such use. Many types and models have complex design and/or are made with special materials to provide a mannequin that looks and feels as humanly lifelike as possible. Additionally, the various models available include size differentials to accommodate child trainees as well as training the techniques to be performed on child-sized persons and infant-sized persons. In all such types, common deficiencies have been found due to the complexity of design and the materials from which the mannequin is made. Therefore, it is highly desirable to provide a new and improved trainer mannequin.
Prior art trainer mannequins are generally deficient in their availability to a large group of trainees. These prior art mannequins are relatively expensive to produce or purchase as a result of complex design and/or manufacturing materials. As a result, a given basic aid training class may only have one or a very few mannequins available for multiple trainees, causing delays in training sessions due to sharing of mannequins among several trainees performing a given technique. The only solution to this problem has been to decrease class size, which then puts a burden upon the providers of such classes due to increased numbers of classes required to train the same number of trainees. Thus, it is highly desirable to provide a new and improved trainer mannequin for which design and materials do not present a cost prohibitive obstacle to providing a mannequin to all trainees in a given basic aid training class, regardless of the size of the class.
Prior art trainer mannequins are specifically deficient regarding their appropriateness for accommodating basic aid training classes for adolescent and minor children. Although prior art mannequins have been designed specifically for use by such children, children, individually and as part of a large trainee group, can be destructive toward the trainer mannequin despite admonitions from adult supervisor trainers and instructors. As a result, even where the cost of obtaining mannequins is defrayed by rental or lease of the mannequin, the provider of the training classes has had to bear the cost of repair and/or replacement of the mannequins harmed by the destructive behavior. Thus, it is highly desirable to provide a new and improved trainer mannequin that accommodates for the destructive behavior of one or a few adolescent or minor children participating in a basic aid training class.
Prior art trainer mannequins are additionally specifically deficient regarding appropriateness for accommodating basic aid training classes for minor children because they generally arrive pre-assembled or in other form not susceptible to visual investigation of the physiology involving basic aid training techniques. As a result, children participating in basic aid training classes are deprived of a meaningful learning experience. Thus, it is highly desirable to provide a new and improved trainer mannequin which affords minor children an opportunity to learn the physiology of basic aid training techniques through visual investigation or through actual assembly and disassembly of the mannequin.
Trainer mannequins such as the one disclosed herein are most desirable if they provide hygienic protection as between trainee users of the mannequin. As a result, a mannequin that is disposable after use by one person is desirable. Therefore, it is highly desirable to provide a new and improved trainer mannequin of simple construction that is convenient to use and can be manufactured relatively inexpensively so as to be disposable.
Finally, it is highly desirable to provide a new and improved trainer mannequin having all of the above identified features.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a new and improved trainer mannequin.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a new and improved trainer mannequin of simple construction and relatively inexpensive manufacture so as to be economically viable to provide to all of the participants in a basic aid training class of any size.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a new and improved trainer mannequin that can be abused and/or destroyed by minor children participating in basic aid training classes without incurring the burden of the cost of repair and/or replacement such that the basic aid training classes become cost prohibitive or such that a fewer number of mannequins are available per child.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a new and improved trainer mannequin that provides learning opportunities to minor children regarding the physiology of basic aid training techniques through the steps of assembly of the mannequin or through visual investigation.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a new and improved trainer mannequin of simple construction that is convenient to use and can be manufactured relatively inexpensively so as to be disposable.
It is finally an object of the invention to provide a new and improved trainer mannequin having all of the above identified features.
In the broader aspects of the invention, there is provided a new and improved trainer mannequin comprising a body having a head and a torso made of common household items. The head and the torso are hollow. The head has openings for a mouth and two nostrils, and additionally has a neck and a neck opening. All the openings provide access to the interior of the head. The torso also has a neck and neck opening, and is secured to the head by connecting the necks in a way that provides a seal between the interior of the head and the torso. The torso additionally can be interchanged to provide training in three basic aid training techniques. For mouth-to-mouth breathing, an attached bag is collapsible and expandable to simulate a lung. For aid in choking, also known as the Heimlich maneuver, the torso is self-supporting in order to provide a more constant volume and greater resistance to collapsing. This torso also simulates a full human torso including stomach and chest. For training this technique, an object is securely placed in the neck of the mannequin to restrict the air flow between the torso and the head, but the object may be forcibly removed from the neck by compressing the torso. Finally, for chest compression training, the torso is the same or similar to the torso for the choking technique, but the bottom is removed in order to stuff it with a filler to provide additional resistance to collapsing and rebounding of the torso, and has affixed to it a rigid piece simulating a sternum, where the trainee applies the compressive force in this technique.